Chapter 5 - The Fishing Trip-5
Brandon’s eyes widened. "What does Vanguard have to do with this?"
"You told Clara you were going on a four-day fishing trip to a cabin in Vermont with your old college friends, Mark and David," Clara said, picking up a stack of glossy color photographs from the table and fanning them out like playing cards. "So imagine my surprise when my private investigators tracked your cell signal not to a quiet lake in Vermont, but to a luxury private villa in Great Exuma, the Bahamas."
The photographs showed Brandon sitting on the deck of a multi-million-dollar yacht, sipping champagne. But he wasn't alone.
Sitting beside him, her arm wrapped around his waist, was a sleek, polished blonde woman in her early thirties wearing a massive diamond engagement ring.
"Her name is Vanessa Vance—formerly Vanessa Sterling," Clara said coldly. "She’s the senior vice president of regional acquisitions at Apex Risk Management—the very firm receiving the encrypted video feeds from our nursery."
Brandon collapsed onto his knees, his energy suddenly evaporating as the mountain of evidence crushed him. "Clara... please..."
"You two have been secretly married in an off-shore ceremony in Dominica for eighteen months, Brandon," Clara revealed, her voice echoing through the bare room. "You were already a bigamist when I became pregnant with the twins. You and Vanessa were working together. She provided the military-grade surveillance hardware and the synthetic pharmaceuticals, while you acted as the insider operative inside my life."
Agent Miller stepped forward, pulling a pair of steel handcuffs from his belt. "Brandon Vance, you are under arrest for federal wire fraud, conspiracy to commit grand larceny, illegal distribution of controlled substances, bigamy, and corporate espionage."
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"Wait! Just wait!" Brandon screamed, scrambling backward against the bare baseboards as Agent Miller closed the distance. "You don't understand! I was forced into this! Vanessa’s firm—they have leverage on me! They were going to ruin me if I didn't get access to Clara's trust!"
"Save it for the grand jury, Brandon," Clara said softly, standing up from her chair and buttoning her jacket. "Because the federal agents aren't just here for you. They’re arresting Vanessa at the Miami airport right now."
